1.2 The Moon

Question 1

What’s the diameter of the moon

Answer 1

3500km

Question 2

What’s the distance from Earth to the moon

Answer 2

Average 380,000km

Question 3

What’s the moons orbital and rotational period?

Answer 3

27.3 days

Question 4

How long and what is a lunar month?

Answer 4

29.5days and its how long it takes the moon to go through all the phases it’s takes longer Becuase 2.2 days are needed for the earth sun and moon to align and restart the phases

Question 5

What are rilles?

Answer 5

Narrow channel like depressions in the lunar seas that’s are believed to have been caused by lava flows

Question 6

What are wrinkle ridges

Answer 6

Wrinkles been caused by the buckling of the lunar surface as a result of compressive forces within the cooling and contracting of lava forming ridges up to 100km long

Question 7

What were the objectives of the Apollo space program.

Answer 7

Collect soil and rock for analysis

Deploy scientific experiments

Land the first human

Question 8

What’s were ALSEPS objectives? (Apollo lunar surface experiments package)

Answer 8

Monitor structure of moons interior

Composition and pressure of lunar atmosphere

Intensity and direction of solar wind

Lunar dust

Question 9

When roughly was the moon formed?

Answer 9

4.5billion years ago

Question 10

How was the moon formed

Answer 10

Giant impact hypothesis

A Mars sized object referred to as Theia hit earth and a large amount of Theia and earths outer layers melted and merged and at the same time a huge amount of debris was thrown into orbit this material coalesced and cooled to become the moon

Question 11

Why is the giant impact theory becoming widely accepted?

Answer 11

The isotopes of oxygen in moon rocks are identical to earths

Lack of water and volatile compounds - supports idea there was so much energy the water vaporised during formation

Question 12

What are mascons?

Answer 12

A concentration of denser material below the surface of the moon which causes an increase of gravitational pull

Question 13

What’s are domes

Answer 13

a type of shield volcano that is found on the surface of moon, they are typically formed by highly viscous, possibly silica-rich lava, erupting from localized vents followed by relatively slow cooling.

Question 14

What are Maria?

Answer 14

Large, dark, basaltic plains on Earth’s Moon, formed by ancient volcanic eruptions - seas

Question 15

What are terrae?

Answer 15

. The lighter-colored regions on the Moon’s surface called terrae they are highlands and are the most ancient regions of the Moon. Terrae are pockmarked with countless craters. Highland or mountainous range on the moon

Question 16

What are craters

Answer 16

Craters are scars on the lunar surface following millions of years of impacts by incoming chunks of matter from asteroids and comets.

Question 17

What’s the far side of the moon like?

Answer 17

More cratered, there are less Maria and more terrae which is older so it’s had more time to be cratered

Question 18

How were the lunar seas made

Answer 18

believed to be basaltic flood plains resulting from lava flows filling giant crater-like basins. They are thought to result from asteroids striking the surface of the moon and subsequent volcanism

Question 19

Which areas of the moon are older

Answer 19

Terrae they are more cratered

Question 20

Why does the moon have no/very little atmosphere

Answer 20

Moon is small so little gravity to hold on to atmosphere

Geologically dead - no significant processes to supply abundant gasses to supply an atmosphere

Moon close to sun so solar wind strips away any atmosphere